Listen and Help

The other morning I was driving into work and my car broke down, on a Monday of course. Thankfully, no one was hurt and I was able to get the car off the road with little trouble.

I took a moment and then began to dig through the glove box to find the number for roadside assistance.

After 3 rings, I was greeted by a calm voice that immediately asked if I was okay and was anyone hurt. I explained what had happened and when I finished was told they had already dispatched a tow truck. At some point after I gave my location and before I was done, the wheels were in motion to help get me on my way.

At the end of the call they said they hoped my day got better and one more thing… “Would you like text message updates on where your tow truck is?” — Of course and thank you, I said.

When the call ended I had already received 2 messages. The first explaining how I could stop further messages. A second detailing which tow truck company was assigned to me with a direct phone number and an ETA of 65 minutes.

After 5 minutes, another text message came updating the ETA to 45 minutes. I waited on the sidewalk and the tow truck arrived exactly on time.

Sure this is the last thing anyone needs on a Monday morning. No matter the weather 45 minutes watching everyone else race to start their day can feel like an eternity. Except when it doesn’t have to.

Of the 45 minute wait, the first 15 minutes was spent talking to a calm voice that only wanted to listen and make things better for me. Followed by 5 minutes of reviewing text messages that explained exactly what was happening. During the remaining time I was left waiting, I was relaxed.

I doesn’t matter if you’re helping a customer after a car accident or with a failed eCommerce checkout process. As long as you can make them feel heard, explain what you’re doing to help and keep your word, they will be loyal. Better still, they’ll become an advocate and share this kind of a story, which is better advertising than you can buy.